SECTION 10

INTERIOR LIGHTING
The problems encountered in applying light to building interiors have
so many ramifications that the popular use of the term "illuminating
engineering" often is restricted to such applications. This usage suggests
the importance of this field as compared with most other phases of the
lighting art and science.
Usually, there are many correct solutions to a lighting problem. Modern
standards call for the provision of both quantity and quality which are
commensurate with the severity of the seeing tasks encountered by the
occupants of a given area and which minimize the fatigue resulting from
visual effort. -Lighting should enhance the over-all appearance of an
interior.
-
-
To achieve these goals, bearing in mind that humans are mobile that
their physical as well as mental ability to see varies as do their tastes, is a
major objective of the illuminating engineering profession.
The solution of an interior lighting problem involves the following
considerations
:
Architecture. The physical structure in which light is to be applied
determines to a large degree the form and disposition of the lighting
facilities. --"It is reasonable to construct a building so that daylight may be
used whenever available."" Daylight, however, varies with the geographical
as well as the immediate location, and with the time of day, the season
of the year, the weather and the presence of adjacent objects such as
trees and buildings. Daylight is "free" but its transfer to the place of
work at the time desired may be costly or impractical. Most buildings
need an electrical-lighting system also.^
Though many of the graphs, formulas, and tables of this and other
sections of the handbook are basic in lighting technology, lighting art is
not subject to the same degree of standardization, since it is influenced in
all its aspects by individual interpretation.
Architecture comprises the aesthetic as well as the physical and economic
aspects of structures- This is equally true of lighting pthe two are not
separable. Many buildings such as theaters emphasize aesthetic con-
siderations to such a degree that these appear paramount to the casual
observer. -Lighting is used by the architect in dramatizing the other
features of his plan.- Aesthetic considerations are not always of such great
importance, but they should never be ignored.
1

Function
of
a building. The function of a building or other structure
greatly influences the way in which lighting is applied^ -A person when
reading encounters the same type of visual task regardless of his location
whether it be in a factory, in an office, or in a home, but such factors as
economics, appearance, continuity of effort, and quality of results desired
influence the lighting design developed for the reading area." Thus ap-
plication techniques generally designated as industrial lighting, store
Note: References are listed at the end of each section.